New information from Statistics Canada and Public Interest Alberta shows that more than 1 in ten employed people in the Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake region are low-wage workers. That’s compared to 1 in 5 across the province, who earn $15 an hour or less.
As well, the majority of the low wage workers are women, which is true for both the Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake region and throughout the province, showing that about two-thirds of low wage workers are women.
According to Public Interest Alberta, the most staggering numbers come out of Medicine Hat, where more than 22 per cent of the city’s workforce are low wage workers. Regional data for Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake is based on ten-month averages but the spring wildfires prevent data collection from this area in May and June this year, so it covers from July of 2015 to April 2016.